Archive for April, 2013
TSA considers allowing knives on planes
Ever since 9/11, the shoe bomber, the liquids bomber and the underwear bomber, air travel has been a cumbersome affair. We arrive early, occasionally have our luggage swabbed for traces of ballistic material, stumble through the security line, pulling out laptops and Ziploc baggies of toiletries, as we tug off sneakers all the while tripping […]
Boston bombing: surprising technologies that stop and track terror
In less than a week, the Boston bombers have been identified, tracked down, and arrested. Surveillance camera footage was key in doing so. The surviving suspect was apprehended in a collaborative effort; law authorities asked the public for photos of the marathon and released photos of suspects to them. Social media helped people quickly share […]
New Jersey to improve homeless services through fingerprint scanning
New Jersey plans to use fingerprint scans to manage parts of its homeless program, based on the success of a similar program in Bergen County. The new biometrics data management system (BDMS) will make it easier to track the homeless and the benefits they receive. Fingerprint scanning could also save time and labor. Government Technology reports, […]
FBI sued for selling Americans’ biometric data to private companies
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), a non-profit privacy advocacy group, has filed a lawsuit against the FBI over the use of its new Next Generation Identification System (NGIS). Privacy advocates and experts are purportedly suing the federal intelligence agency in order to protect personal, identifiable information on the grounds of non-disclosure, citing concerns about the […]
Saratoga Springs bets its safety on security cameras
For tourist towns, safety and economic development go hand-in-hand. Every summer, tourists flock to the quaint resort town of Saratoga Springs in Upstate New York for its healing mineral waters and summer race track. However, a recent spate of crime including robberies, sexual assault and an ugly incident involving a machete, have residents worried not […]
Is video surveillance too high a price to pay to deter criminals?
Although video surveillance has been adopted by many cities to deter crime, their effectiveness is up for debate. Many studies suggest that camera footage helps in criminal investigations, but is not effective in preventing crime. In many cases, crimes happen in areas just outside the cameras’ reach. Another hindering factor is that a camera monitoring system […]
Fashion strikes back against surveillance technology with stealth wear
“Over the next 15 years, the US Federal Aviation Administration anticipates more than 20,000 new drones will appear in American skies, owned not just by law enforcement agencies and the military, but also public health bodies and private companies.” (Report: PSFK) This rise in surveillance technology includes face recognition software, body scans, and cell phones as […]